Container Vegetable Gardening
First Things to Do
The rules for growing vegetables in containers are the same for growing most plants in a container.
The soil has to be artificial as real garden soil will compact horribly over the course of a season.
You need full sun. Well, you don’t need it but the plants certainly do.
You have to feed this soil at least once a week. Twice a week is much better and will grow you a much better crop. If you don’t feed, you won’t see growth.
How Large a Container To Succeed?
The container has to be large enough to support the growth of the plant in your container vegetable gardening efforst. In the case of vegetables, you can grow a tomato in six to eight shovels of soil but you’ll wind up watering it at least once a day during the height of the gardening season. More is better.
Color of Container
And do understand that a black coloured container will heat up the soil faster and higher than a lighter coloured pot. This is not a good thing in the height of the summer as plant roots will suffer (and so will your yield) if they become overheated.
Container Kind and Construction
The containers can be anything that will hold soil. From large and expensive clay pots to cheap plastic window boxes. What holds the soil is irrelevant to the vegetable plant in container vegetable gardening. I've use green plastic garbage bags to grow tomatoes and they worked quite well (if a little messy to clean up).
Water
You have to water. And water. And water some more. Vegetables are over 95% water and allowing them to dry out, even for a day, can drastically reduce your yields. In some cases such as tomatoes and peppers, allowing the plant to dry out early in its life for a surprising brief time can directly lead to problems such as end rotting when the fruit begins to ripen.
What plants are ideal for container vegetable gardening?
Leafy green vegetables are ideal. You can grow amazingly large crops of leaf lettuce and harvesting it regularly fills up the salad bowl and keeps it growing. Use different colored varieties to add some ornamental value to your fresh salads and garden.
Kale and other hardy fall types for fall sowings and harvests right up until a hard frost.
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers grow well in container vegetable gardening if you pour the water to the crop. Without regular watering, you’ll be disappointed.
Bush beans do well in containers and pole beans can be used to cover a trellis
The vine crops such as cucumbers, watermelon, and squash (both winter and summer) are easily grown in container vegetable gardening.
I get asked about corn and while you can grow it – it takes up a lot of space for very little return. And that’s something you have to decide. Crops such as corn, turnips, beets and the like can be grown in containers but they take up a lot of space for the size of the crop.
Space Saving Suggestion
Grow them vertically or allow them to wander. Vertical is better if you are space challenged.
Final Words from Experience
If you’re playing with container vegetable gardening because you are limited in space or ground (like gardening on an apartment balcony) then you want to grow the crops that you’ll use the most of. It sounds simple in theory but we all tend to get carried away thinking, “Oh, I’ll grow one of these and two of these and oops! - no more space anywhere including the bedroom.” Grow what you like to eat, is space effective, and is easy to grow.
But above all, enjoy those container vegetable gardening results! Fresh veggies from your very own garden.
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